Veidtjacking
Veidtjacking is a curious Sueniverse phenomenon that had its origins before Adrian Veidt arrived on the scene, but has only gone downhill (or uphill) since he blessed the 'Verse with his morally ambiguous purple glitter. Like Adrian Veidt himself, Veidtjacking's chief power lies on controlling the situation at hand until everyone else involved suddenly realizes that they have been merely cogs in some far grander design. Once discovered, it is imperative that the Veidtjack be recognized as such through a declaration of "V-V-V-VEIDTJACK!" or use of the official Veidtjack stamp. Victims Participants are known as "Veidtjackers". =The Development of a Veidtjacking= Primary Stage Imagine, if you will, that someone has made a passing reference to Adrian Veidt in an unrelated thread. Should the comment be funny, thought-provoking, plot-related or incendiary enough, Megan will likely respond with a Veidt-related paragraph or two, because she is a little too fond of the man and can talk about him for hours. Secondary (or Viral) Stage This is therefore the critical moment in any potential Veidtjacking. The conversation can either return to normal, or someone else can respond in a similar vein. If enough people begin to comment (or play Bait the Megan), a strange metaphysical process begins to take place. Post after post of Veidt-related discussion will accumulate, until a strange realization begins to take hold of those involved. Tertiary (or "Waking") Stage As intangible yet immediately recognizable as the sensation that accompanies déja vu, the knowledge that a Veidtjack has taken place will settle in like fog over a beach at night. You know, if fog were purple and fabulous. =Etymology= The phrase "Veidtjacking" was coined by Megan, who based it upon the term "Lunajack" from 4chan. A Lunajack involves posting a picture of Luna Lovegood (of Harry Potter fame) on a 4chan board and observing the bizarre effect her sheer adorableness has on the usually hardened and vulgar /b/tards. They will begin to confess their love for her in terms of tender adoration and defend her purity from those who would wrong her. Veidtjacking, however, is a far more organic process. Sarrin has commented that "Veidtjacking happens totally without the Veidtjackers' consent or knowledge. The dim lightbulbs in their minds slowly become brighter until the brilliance makes it quite plain: a Veidtjack has taken place." *That is right, readers. Megan and I Veidtjack our own AIM conversations. This strange phenomenon has even been known to happen in real life. It naturally occurs in the experience of watching or reading ''Watchmen, as the climax and ending of the story are really just setups for a truly massive-scale Veidtjacking of the thoughts of the audience. =Types of Veidtjacking= Moral Discussion The most typical Veidtjackings tend to involve such implicit questions as "do the ends justify the means?", "is Adrian Veidt a sympathetic character?", and "is he the villain?", or somewhat less developed variations of these questions involving phrases like "High King of Yuppie Douchebags". Veidt's Sexuality A main component of Veidtjacking since the movie came out (HA! PUNS!) is whether or not Adrian Veidt is intended to be gay. The general agreement seems to be that comic!Veidt is either asexual or bisexual (extremes much?). Movie!/Verse!Veidt is very very gay, and there's not much arguing about that, except in the form of a: Meta Discussion (Kris, we're looking at you.) The meta form of a Veidtjacking pertains chiefly to the movie version, and whether or not making Veidt all but explicitly gay, and foreign to boot, was a way of playing on audience prejudices. To be fair, Zach Snyder (the director) is the guy that directed 300, aka Gerik and His 299 Buff, Perfectly Formed, 100% Straight White Greek Manly Men VS The Seven-Foot-Tall Bisexual Whore-King of Persia, A Hunchback, Some Lesbians and Chicks Missing Limbs, and A Whole Army of Brown People!, so this theory could be entirely true. Then again, dick jokes aside, Matthew Goode (movie!Veidt) did seem to have put a lot of thought into the backstory he came up with for the character, and intended to actually use it to make him more likable. Megan has halfheartedly protested this one, because she happens to think Veidt's accent and obvious gayosity in the movie made him about ten times hotter. In-Character Discussion Veidtjacking has even occurred within in-character conversations, such as when Micaela Ruth Heekin and Megan Elness found an ad for Veidt Hairspray for Men. =Who Is At Risk?= Veidtjacking can happen at any moment, to anyone who has been exposed to even small doses of Adrian Veidt. Even those who are not particularly familiar with Watchmen have been known to weigh in (particularly fangirls who just want to say that they think he's hot). While no one is truly immune, the demographic least susceptible to Veidtjacking appears to be young males who have seen the film version, who are more likely to have spent the whole film making jokes about Dr. Manhattan's penis. =Side Effects= Side effects of Veidtjacking include a sudden and confused sense of accomplishment at having had a deep conversation about the nature of morality, discomfort with the possibility of European cultural norms being equated with homosexuality or either concept being pegged as something inherently bad, use of the word "FIERCE!", and dry mouth. =How To Block A Veidtjacking= It's dangerous to go alone. Take this: